22 years later, Punjab man acquitted as ‘gun’ fails firing test
Punjab and Haryana High Court rules weapon’s working condition unproven, overturns conviction under Arms Act
3 min read
The high court set aside the judgments of the Chief Judicial Magistrate and the Additional Sessions Judge, acquitting Jagtar Singh of all charges. (Source: File)The Punjab and Haryana High Court acquitted a man, who was earlier convicted under the Arms Act, after the prosecution failed to prove that the firearm allegedly seized from him was in working condition. Justice Jasjit Singh Bedi delivered the verdict, setting aside the conviction and sentencing imposed by the lower courts.
The case dates back to January 24, 2003, when the Punjab Police registered an FIR against Jagtar Singh based on secret information. According to the prosecution, a police team had raided a pond area near Bir Sikhanwala in Faridkot district, where Jagtar Singh and four others were allegedly plotting thefts and robberies. While the other suspects escaped, Singh was apprehended, and a country-made double-barrel pistol of .315 bore along with two live rounds was allegedly seized from him.
Following an investigation, he was charged under Section 25 of the Arms Act. The Chief Judicial Magistrate, Faridkot, convicted him on November 15, 2006, sentencing him to two years of rigorous imprisonment and a fine of Rs 2,000. His appeal was dismissed by the Additional Sessions Judge, Faridkot, on April 1, 2008. Singh then filed a revision petition in the High Court in May 2008, and his sentence was suspended in August 2008.
During the final hearing of the revision petition, Singh’s counsel argued that the prosecution had failed to prove that the firearm was functional, as it had not been test-fired. The counsel pointed to the deposition of Gurnam Singh, the police official who examined the weapon, stating that he had not checked the firing pin.
The State contended that the weapon had been examined and was found to be in working condition. However, the court referred to previous judgments, including ‘Jarnail Singh v. State of Punjab’ (1999) and ‘Mohan v. State of Madhya Pradesh’ (2019), to clarify that test-firing is not always mandatory but that an examiner must establish that the weapon is capable of discharging a projectile.
Citing Modi’s Medical Jurisprudence and Toxicology, Justice Bedi explained that a firearm requires a functioning firing pin to propel a projectile. Since a police witness had admitted in cross-examination that he had not checked the firing pin, the court ruled that the prosecution had failed to establish that the weapon was a working firearm.
“Thus, in the absence of checking for a firing pin, it cannot be ascertained that a shot could be fired and therefore, the weapon cannot be stated to be a firearm in working condition,” Justice Bedi stated in the judgment.
Accordingly, the high court set aside the judgments of the Chief Judicial Magistrate and the Additional Sessions Judge, acquitting Jagtar Singh of all charges.
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